


witch of her age

by robaca (goodlamb)



Series: Love & Dragons [2]
Category: The Martian (2015), The Martian - All Media Types, The Martian - Andy Weir
Genre: Aromantic Character(s), Aromanticism, Babies, F/M, Fluff, Multi, babies ever after
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-12-02
Updated: 2015-12-02
Packaged: 2018-05-04 12:27:58
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,182
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5334101
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/goodlamb/pseuds/robaca
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Timestamp to "love is a mystery, dragons are real."</p>
            </blockquote>





	witch of her age

“Oh my god,” Mark said. “You guys have done it. I mean, I really think you cracked it. You have the cute baby thing totally _down._ ”

Beth looked the most exhausted he’d ever seen her— and he’d spent almost 3 years with her in space, so that was saying something. But still she laughed, her hair sweaty and piled behind her head as her face was lit up. Chris stood beside her hospital bed, looking overcome, his calm demeanor cracked for once. Mark had gone up and given him a hug as soon as he walked in, because the guy just looked so full of energy, joy. Chris had actually _whooped_ , like a guy at a Superbowl party or something, and cracked Mark on the back a few times.

The baby was in Beth’s arms, cradled against her chest. If he was _super_ honest, it looked just about like any other baby he’d ever met. Bald. Big eyes. Little fingers (10 of them, hopefully, and same for the toes).

But she was theirs, and she was beautiful, just like they were.

“What’s her name?” he asked, coming close to the bed so he could dangle a finger in front of her little, scrunched up face. God, he was going to spoil this kid rotten.

The two of them looked at each other.

He tilted his head. “Oh my God, you guys did something stupid.”

Chris rubbed at the back of his head (with his fucked up, greasy, “I just sat through 18 hours of my wife’s labor” hair) and that bright, joyous look in his eyes was marred, just the tiniest bit, by exasperation. “It was her idea,” he said. “If it was a boy we were gonna name him after my dad, but if it was a girl, she got to pick, so I swear, it’s _all_ her—”

“You saw my list!” Beth said, “you could have objected if you were _really_ gonna have this much of a—”

“I never thought you’d _pick_ that!”

“ _Guys,_ ” Mark said, “you gotta give me a hint here, I’m thinking Beth picked Beelzebub or Beetlejuice or something.”

Chris put his face in one hand.

Mark blinked. “Wait, did you?”

“No!” Beth said, face indignant. She took a breath. “Okay, so, since we _met_ where we did, and the way that we did, and we spent a good chunk of our fucking lives—”

“Oh my God, she was just born, Beth,” Chris said.

“Yeah, and she better get used to it fast,” said Mark sardonically.

 _“Shut_ _up, the both of you,_ ” Beth growled, her voice going weird and deep. Chris and Mark both piped down, sensing they were stepping onto the toes of a woman who was pumped full of drugs and hormones and had just pushed something very large out of somewhere very small. They were smart men. Astronauts, you could even say.

Beth sighed again, and looked back down at her baby, dreamily. “Hermione Johanssen Beck.”

Mark froze for a second. Chris looked at him, with a face that had melted into despair.

And then Mark burst out into guffaws. “Oh my god, you _didn’t._ ”

“It’s a variant of Hermes!” she said, indignant again, voice high.

“If you guys have another girl are you gonna name her _Buffy_? How about _Xena_? Or _Katniss_?”

“The fact that you can even reference the goddamn _Hunger Games_ proves you’re a way bigger nerd than me,” Beth said, leaning her head back to rest on her pillow (as Chris jumped forward to fluff it) looking back down at little…Hermione. Mark broke out chuckling again just thinking about it.

Beth carried on like she didn’t hear. “And besides, Hermione Granger is a great role model for a kid to have. Witch of her age, and all. It has double significance.” Beth sighed and laid back fully, her arms pulling the baby toward her in a way that made the kid grumble. Holy shit, that was a living baby. Wow. Yikes.

Chris leaned into her. His face had gone soft again, all that joy mellowing out into something more peaceful. His voice was indulgent, and quietly happy, when he spoke: “You want me to take her?”

Beth sort of whined, her eyes already fluttering closed. “No.” She sniffed. “Yes.”

Mark watched Chris smile, and finagled the tiny, tiny, pink baby out of his wife’s arms, his hands gentle and careful. He put her in the little clear, hospital…crib? Box? Baby holder? It was tall and had wheels, he knew that.

“All right,” he said, trying to be quiet. “I should head out, let you guys get some rest.”

“No,” Beth said, her eyes still closed, her voice distorted with sleep. “Stick around. She and I’ll be up for a feeding in like, an hour.” She peeked one eye open. “Her goddad’s gotta hold her, too.”

Mark felt frozen, and then warm, and then he felt nothing but the way his face cracked open in the same kind of overfilled grin that he’d seen on Chris’ face walking in. “Yeah?” he said, embarrassed to hear emotion in his broken voice.

“Duh,” Beth said, closing her eyes again.

Mark sat down in a chair, pulled up next to Chris who was laying in the plush hospital lounger. He looked as about as on the verge of sleep as Beth did. Except for the way he kept trying to keep his eyes open, fitting his chin into his hand where he had propped his arm up by the elbow.

“You can blink, man,” Mark said, “she’s not gonna poof away.”

“Mmm,” Chris mumbled, still staring.

Mark grinned fondly. And then he did what always did, and chattered to fill the sileece. “So. Little Hermione.” Chris peered at him with vexed eyes, and he laughed. “She is a cute little fucker.”

Mark knew Chris must have really been out of it not to nag him about cursing. He continued anyway. “God, Uncle _and_ Godfather. I hope you know I’m gonna be the fun uncle _so hard._ I’m talking Disneyland trips. I’m talking surprise puppies at Christmas. I’m talking about bringing her back all hyped up on sugar and non-organic food coloring.” He grinned, thinking about it.

There was another moment of silence, when he thought Chris might have actually fallen asleep. In those seconds he sobered, a little, looking at Hermoine in her weird hospital baby box. “It’s gonna be weird, one day, though,” he said, quiet. “Explaining to her what I am to you guys. Like, not a real uncle, not…not, I don’t know, not just a friend of the family. I—”

“Mark,” Chris said, voice askew with the way his face was smushed. “I love you, in a no-romo way, but I am way too out of it to be properly reassuring. You’re Mark. You’re part of the family. That’s all I’ve got for you.”

That silenced Mark, for once. He sat there looking at Hermie with a warm smile on his face, while Chris slowly fell asleep, he and Beth greasy haired, and snoring like chainsaws in tandem.


End file.
